| Aden Jefferies | |||||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Todd Lasance | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2005, 2007–2010 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 4 August 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 6 May 2010 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Julie McGauran | ||||||||||||||
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Aden Jefferies is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Todd Lasance. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 4 August 2005. Aden was introduced in 2005 as a recurring character and as part of Cassie Turner's (Sharni Vinson) storylines. Lasance was offered the role after previously auditioning for a separate character. In 2007, Lasance was asked to return on another guest contract, though was promoted to the regular cast soon after.
Aden is characterised as a "bad boy" who goes on a journey to become one of the "good guys". Aden's backstory played a substantial role in his early material. His childhood was plagued with sexual abuse at the hands of his grandfather, while Aden's father, Larry Jefferies (Paul Gleeson) became an alcoholic. Lasance and scriptwriters have both pointed out that these events impacted on Aden's life and contribute to his destructive personality. As Aden begins to trust others again, he gains a close circle of friends including Nicole Franklin (Tessa James), Roman Harris (Conrad Coleby) and Morag Bellingham (Cornelia Frances). He also has a nemesis throughout his tenure in the form of Geoff Campbell (Lincoln Lewis). However, his main relationship is with Belle Taylor (Jessica Tovey); when the actors first heard that their on-screen counterparts would enter a relationship, they both complained to producers. Both felt like it would not work out and be ill-received by viewers. However, the two realised they had chemistry as a duo and took a chance. The couple became popular with viewers and fans coined the term "Adelle" to refer to the pair.
Other storylines include holding those closest to him as hostages and being admitted to a psychiatric ward. He is also forced to cope with Belle's death after their wedding and a subsequent relationship with his best friend Nicole. Certain media outlets enjoyed Aden and Belle's romance citing the moment they were torn apart as a "sad loss". Aden also gained recognition as being a popular "bad boy" from Inside Soap. For his portrayal of Aden, Lasance won the award for the "Most Popular Actor" at the 2009 Logie Awards.